By Sue Perbody

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and that means it is time to pick something out for your mother if you haven’t already! We all want to pick out the perfect gift to show our moms our appreciation on this special day, but one thing that can make this difficult or frustrating is working around a budget, thankfully there are some fun, creative and still sentimental options you can do. From simple DIY gifts to taking her out, there are some great budget friendly options.

Going along with the idea of DIY Mother’s Day gifts, here are some simple, fun, and cheap DIY gift ideas for mom. If your mother has a green thumb and loves plants or gardening, you could buy clay pots which range from one to five dollars plus some cheap acrylic paint and make her some hand-painted flowerpots. You can also use these paints find some nice rocks and pebbles and hand paint them to decorate her garden. Another great option is if your mom loves snacks or has a sweet tooth, you could make her a custom snack box, showing her that you pay attention and know what she likes. Pick out some of her favorite snacks, and then get a nice small box and tissue paper or crinkle shredded paper to fill it for eye appeal. This can easily be done for under twenty dollars, and you can’t go wrong with it. A great decorative option can be pressed flowers in a frame. You can find frames for under five dollars at many places and on top of that pick some flowers for free to press, preferably not flowers from your neighbor’s garden! Lastly, for some fun memorabilia you could buy a cheap frame, get one or two photos with your mom printed, plus some construction paper and glue. Cut the paper into the shape of the frame, glue on the photos and write a nice note or maybe a funny joke from the memory.

Another great way to do Mother’s Day aside from gifts is taking your mother out of celebrating with her at home. You don’t have to do anything expensive like lunch at a fancy restaurant, there are many fun budget friendly options too. For those who want to stay in, give your mom an at home spa day. Going out for facials and getting your nails done can add up fast, but buying some supplies and doing it in the comfort of your own home is a great alternative. Another great option for staying home and celebrating is making your mother breakfast, you can’t go wrong with starting the day out right!

For those who would rather get out of the house on Mother’s Day to spend some time with mom, going for a walk is free and if the weather permits it is a nice thing to do to get some sunshine and chat. In addition, you can do a picnic lunch and make a whole afternoon of it. Another great budget friendly option is taking your mom out for ice cream by a park and then going for a walk. Some great options for walking, or a picnic are Delaware Park, the Botanical Gardens and especially if you want some ice cream go to Niawanda Park on the river and stop at Mississippi Mudds.